NEW-ISH
The Tallest Man on Earth - I Love You, It's a Fever Dream (6/10)
Jack White - Boarding House Reach (4/10)
The Twilight Sad - It Won/T Be Like This All the Time (6/10)
Buddy Guy - The Blues is Alive and Well (8/10)
The Black Keys - Let's Rock (4/10)
State Faults - Clairvoyant (5/10)
Falls of Rauros - Patterns in Mythology (10/10)
The new Falls of Rauros is the peak of the folk/myth metal that bands like Panopticon and Saor have been at the forefront of for the past few years. It is hard-driving, atmospheric, storytelling genius... the new Tallest Man is a little disappointing, if only because he abandons some of his folk trappings for a poppier sound, which comes off a little hollow at times. 'Hotel Bar' is absolutely gut-wrenching, though... for a man who is obsessed with the history of music, Jack White sure has a tendency (post-WS) to make mediocre records... TTS step away from pure sadcore and into a bit more poppy territory, and while some of the songs are definitely solid, it just wasn't what I expect from them - this is a record that I sense may grow on me... the new Black Keys just feels stale, and like they ran out of ideas after 'Lo/Hi' and 'Go', which are bangers... I expected more out of State Faults, considering some of the reviews I'd read, but there's way better hardcore/screamo out there right now... and I just freaking love Buddy Guy, even if not all of the songs on this record are perfect.
CLASSICS
Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi OST (9/10)
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' in the Moonlight (9/10)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#∞ (8/10)
Viet Cong - Viet Cong (5/10)
Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (7/10)
Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (5/10)
Gary Clark Jr. - Blak & Blu (3/10)
Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw... (9/10)
Couple things I learned this week - Philip Glass has such an immense influence on the avant garde instrumentation that we see rampant in modern film OST's, only his is so diverse and motif-heavy that it feels like a fever dream... and Fiona Apple is basically the female Bob Dylan, but doesn't get nearly the credit for it. Each of her albums has gotten better, and this one is top-10 of the decade territory for sure.